2
GEOLOGICAL AND PREHISTORIC TRAPS.
By S. HAZZLEDINE WARREN, F.G.S.
Being a Presidential Address delivered to the Club on March 30th,
1940.
(With Two Illustrations.)
INTRODUCTION.—The unintentional humour of the
archaeologist would fill a weighty tome, and one is some-
times reminded of the delightful incident of Mr. Pickwick and
his inscribed stone, which still has a lesson to teach us.
My chief purpose here, however, is to draw from my own
experience varied examples of deceptive appearances in geological
sections, special difficulties of interpretation, and, going a little
deeper, to touch upon the subtle effects of wishful thinking
upon the limited vision of the mind, so that, with the best
intentions in the world, we see things as they are not.
It is inevitable that some points must be controversial,
and in the sight of many it will be I who see things as they are
not, so the reader will please take my opinions for what they are
worth, and transform them to the service of his own convictions.
Fortunately, I have certain new records on hand that are
peculiarly appropriate to illustrate my subject, so the following
pages will include material not previously published: and with
me it is observation, or if you will, the sporting hunt for new
facts, that always stands first.
Difficulties of Relative Dating, in the Submerged
Prehistoric Surface.—The ancient land surface that was
occupied by Neolithic man occurs immediately under the sub-
merged peats of the Essex estuaries. The subsoil of this
occupation-surface varies from place to place, like that of the
present day: it may be London Clay, but more usually it is
either Pleistocene loam or gravel, or Holocene loam or marsh
clay.
Neolithic implements, similar to those of the occupation
"floor," may sometimes be found in the Holocene loam at a
depth of a foot or two below the "floor." I at first thought
these were of earlier date, but I now believe this was a mistake.
On the other side, microlithic implements similar to Mesolithic